full title · The Sun Also Rises
author · Ernest Hemingway
type of work · Novel
genre · Modernist novel; travelogue; novel of disillusionment
language · English
time and place written · Mid-1920s, Paris
date of first publication · 1926
publisher · Charles Scribner’s Sons
narrator · Jake Barnes
point of view · Jake tells the entire story from his own point of view.
tone · Somber, detached, ironic, nostalgic
tense · Past
setting (time) · 1924
setting (place) · The novel begins in Paris, France, moves to Pamplona, Spain, and concludes in Madrid, Spain.
protagonist · Jake
major conflict · Jake is in love with Lady Brett Ashley, but they cannot maintain a relationship because he was rendered impotent by a war wound. Jake loses numerous friendships and has his life repeatedly disrupted because of his loyalty to Brett, who has a destructive series of love affairs with other men.
rising action · Jake, Brett, and their friends pursue a dissipated life in Paris; Jake introduces Brett to Robert Cohn; Brett and Cohn have an affair; Cohn follows Brett to Pamplona.
climax · The jilted Cohn beats up Mike and Jake, and afterward Pedro Romero.
falling action · Jake and his friends leave Spain; Jake enjoys the solitude of San Sebastian; Brett wires Jake to rescue her in Madrid after forcing Romero to leave her.
themes · The aimlessness of the Lost Generation; male insecurity; the destructiveness of sex
motifs · The failure of communication; excessive drinking; false friendships
symbols · Bullfighting
foreshadowing · The behavior of the bulls repeatedly foreshadows the actions of the people in the novel.
